Perpetual Indifference
by happy45
Summary: They became more than friends, then, all of a sudden, they were nothing, and neither of them could really accept or understand why. / Season 2 fix-it fic/


**I've been wondering for the past while why Emily and Aaron are barely interacting with each other. I reckon it's probably just bad writing, but what if there's a reason? What if there's an underlying tension that needs to be addressed?**

 **So, I decided to write my take on the problem… it's a sort of fix-it fix for the 6 episodes that we've had.**

 **Enjoy!**

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 **Perpetual Indifference**

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Emily had been walking around the White House like a ghost all day. Yesterday, she had had a horrible encounter with her dad and she found herself kissing Seth in a moment of vulnerability.

She meant it as a thank you kiss. A comfort kiss. He was the first person to make her feel good about herself in a long time and without even realising what she was doing, she kissed him. But, she didn't expect or want anything more from him. Not when he wasn't the one she wanted more from.

 _Aaron Shore._ Every time she heard his name or saw his name it sent a tingling down her spine. They didn't get along, then they became close friends, then they became more than that, then, all of a sudden, they were nothing, and neither of them could really accept or understand why.

Emily watched him as he interacted with some interns at the other end of the corridor. In the 6 months that he had been back at the White House, he had allowed his curls to grow out a little longer and something about him seemed leaner. Emily was always dying to know when he found time for a work out.

What she was dying to know more, however, was when this perpetual indifference between them had started. He was happy to be back at the White House, she knew that, they talked about it. But as soon as the work kicked in, it was as if he couldn't distance himself further from her. Even when they were in the same room he stood on the opposite end, he sent all his messages to Emily through assistants, there was barely any face to face contact.

Eventually Emily grew to accept it. This was just the way it was going to be. They were in the White House to do a job and nothing more. What did she really have to complain about?

Even if they couldn't be anything more than friends, she valued their friendship and the loss of even just that was something to complain about.

Then out of nowhere, she found herself relying on Seth more than anyone. Seth became Aaron's replacement, and something was telling her that it just wasn't right. It wasn't the way it was supposed to be, yet it all felt completely out of her control. At the start, any time she tried to talk to him about anything other than work, he walked away.

So somehow, after the terrible day she had yesterday, Seth Wright, her _brother_ , was the one bringing her comfort food and telling her she was the best thing since slice bread, when it should have been Aaron Shore, her _confident_ , bringing her comfort whiskey and telling her she was the best thing since sliced bread.

6 months of indifference, and Emily wasn't sure how much more she could take. She thought her heart would grow colder with time, but it just longed for him more. It longed to have him by her side again, worrying about her and denying it, remembering her coffee order, taking her to see Elvis impersonators, _telling her he needed her._

Aaron began to walk away from the interns and Emily quickly swivelled on her heel and walked into her office. She knew he would be walking past her door and it took everything in her not to look up. Even if she didn't, something forced her to. Him appearing at her door, with a bunch of files in hand.

"Hey" He greeted, holding up the files. "Some papers for you to sign."

"Ok thanks, just drop them there." Emily said with a soft smile as he did what he was asked.

He turned to leave again, but suddenly, after 6 months, Emily found her voice and blurted out something she never thought she would tell him.

"I kissed Seth!" she exclaimed as Aaron stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around.

They remained in silent for a minute as Emily watch Aaron's fists clench. She wasn't going to lie, she felt a moment of relief wash over her when she saw him do that— _he still cared_.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly, keeping his back to her.

"I—I don't know" she said meekly.

Aaron gulped, not sure what to say to her. Of course it bothered him. Seth shouldn't be the one she was kissing, she should be kissing him, but he was afraid. She had broken him before and he didn't want that to happen again. So instead, he began to walk towards the door again.

Emily felt the anger boil inside of her as she watched him move again.

"Stop walking away from me!" she shouted as she walked over to the door and slammed it before he could leave.

"What do you want Emily?"

"I want you to talk to me!" she pleaded. "I kissed Seth and you clench your fists and walk away? What does that even mean?!"

"What do you want me to say Emily? That I'm happy for you? Why would I be happy that you're kissing my best friend when it should be me instead?" Aaron let out as Emily took a step back, not expecting that revelation.

"Are you kidding me?" she whispered. " _Are you actually kidding me?_ You have treated me with complete indifference for 6 months Aaron. You haven't even wanted to be my friend! And now you're standing here telling me that I should be with you?"

"I treated you with indifference because it's too damn hard Emily!"

"What is too hard?!"

"You thinking I was capable of treason!" he shouted as Emily found herself silenced once again. "You broke me Emily. I couldn't get my head around the fact that the person that I cared about most in this world thought I was capable of blowing up the entire US government." Aaron confessed as Emily looked at her feet. "Then when it went away, we just never spoke about it again. For all I know, you could still think I had something to do with it."

"That's what this has been about? The fact that I vetted you?" Emily said as she felt her eyes glisten with tears. "I never thought you were capable of this Aaron, not once. The President asked me to vet you and he asked me to keep my guard up which is what I did. Even when I found out it was you that made that call, I spent all my time trying to think of other explanations. I couldn't accept it and I never did! I'm sorry that I led you to believe that I didn't trust you… but that's not true… why didn't you just talk to me about it Aaron?"

"Because I was afraid of the answer. I'm crazy about you Emily and I couldn't bear to have you break me again." Aaron confessed as Emily finally let a tear roll down her cheek. "But I guess it doesn't matter anymore." He said as he took a few steps back from her. "You've moved on." He finished quietly, alluding to the kiss she shared with Seth.

Emily shook her head. "I haven't moved on. I kissed Seth in a moment of vulnerability… it was a thank you kiss for just taking a moment to remind me of my worth." Emily explained. "But as soon as I did it… I just felt this ache in my heart because I knew it shouldn't have been him I was kissing." Emily said through her tears. "It shouldn't have been him that I've been sharing anything that's happened in the past six months with. It should have been you… it's _always_ been you."

Aaron gulped, fighting back his own tears as he walked towards her, cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her with everything that was in him. He pulled back after a few moments and rested his forehead against hers as she held onto his wrists tightly.

"This better be it Aaron. You and me. For real." Emily said sternly.

Aaron chuckled lightly; "I am never letting you go again Rhodes. It's you and me. _Always."_

6 months of tension and indifference had led to this moment. They finally laid everything bare in front of each other and they only wished they'd done it 6 months ago instead of wasting all this time. Yet they couldn't be more grateful for this moment. This moment to get back on track, to get back to the people they used to be and to take back the love that they shared.


End file.
